This is exactly why I don't view Donald Trump as a joke. Sure his hair looks like a giant Harvest Cheddar Sun Chip. Yes, his face has aged into what looks like a pile of blushing mashed potatoes*, but what he says is real and lots of people agree with him. You might think I’m exaggerating, but I’m not. It’s horrifying, yes, but it’s also true.

You might not be able to tell just by reading what I write online, but I am friendly with a good number of conservative folks. Political views that don’t align with mine don’t offend me and my friends and family understand this. In fact, I rather enjoy conversing at length with people who have contrasting views. I appreciate hearing about what it’s like for the conservatives and I relish attempting to grasp the concepts behind their political structure. Ultimately, I suppose I just like learning. Because of this I’ve met some wonderful people on the other side of that great divide.

Candid, educated conservatives can be great folks, but Trump is not one of those people. This guy is a bully with a whole lot of money who has a knack for pitching ideas. That might sound ludicrous considering how many times he’s put his foot in his mouth recently, but it’s not, because he seems to be pretty good at knowing his audience too. Look, if this man didn’t know how to hustle the shit out of people he wouldn’t have been able to come back from bankruptcy four freakin’ times.

Trump gets right to the point and doesn’t mince words, unlike his conservative compadres.

While usually those are commendable traits, that is not the case with The Donald. In reality he’s just pitching us an over simplified business plan, one where everything is black and white and there is no middle grey. If this plan is to be successful he needs a bad guy, someone who people can blame for single-handedly destroying America. What he needs is an villain, someone easy to hate. And what better enemy than the people who shouldn’t even be here to begin with, am I right?

It probably sounds crazy to you, especially if you’ve ever hired an undocumented worker to cut your grass, clean your toilets, watch your kids, or cook your food. An upstanding American citizen would never do such a thing, I know. And yet, many, many undocumented immigrants do exactly that for scores of Americans & American businesses every single day. I’m looking at you, Mr. Trump.

Do you guys really think undocumented immigrants leave their desk jobs behind in their native lands excited about serving school lunches and busing tables in America? Don’t look so surprised. I’ve met many an office dweller that has ended up in this country mopping floors and taking out the trash because they were forced to immigrate illegally. Weird how that happens.

What’s even weirder is that they keep coming and people keep hiring them. It seems the need is there. Wouldn’t it be grand if we could fix our horrifically backlogged and broken immigration system so people could get their fruit picked, hotels cleaned, and houses built legally?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, no one wants to come here illegally. No one wants to get a fake social security number and pay into a program that will never benefit them. No one wants to be looked at like they’re subhuman. No one wants to feel like trash. Unfortunately, lots of people want to feel better about themselves and all too often, the only way they can manage that is by attacking the enemy. Trump’s dangerous because he provided that enemy by offering up the most vulnerable among us and it’s too late to back track now.

*No, I don’t feel obligated to stick to my No Personal Attacks rule when speaking of Mr. Trump. He called all undocumented immigrants rapist, drug dealing Mexicans and because I’m a first generation, Mexican-American woman I reserve the right to call this sorry sack of shit whatever the fuck I want.